VIENNA, a large and celebrated city of Germany, in the circle of Austria, and capital of the Hungarian dominions. It stands on the south side of the Danube, 40 miles west of Presburg, 40 east of Litz, 100 north-west of Buda, 180 south-west of Cracow, 450 north of Rome, 560 east of Rotterdam, 500 from Paris, 600 from London, and 570 west of Constantinople. The Turks call it Brez, the natives Wien, and the Poles Wiedon. The ancient Vindobona stood in the neighbourhood. The Danube is here pretty wide, forming several beautiful islands well stocked with woods. The country to the east and north is level; but to the west and south there is a range of mountains, clothed with trees and vines. It seems to have been a considerable place in the time of the Romans: for it was the station of their Classis Africana, or navy on the Danube; and here the emperor Marcus Aurelius is said to have died. In 1192 it was enlarged, beautified, and walled round, with the ransom-money which the marquis of Austria obliged Rich. I. of England to pay when he made him prisoner in his return from the Holy Land, because he took down the Austrian banner at Joppa, and threw it into the house of office. The city itself is of no great extent, contain-
containing, besides churches and cloisters which have generally extensive gardens and walks, about 1200 houses from four to seven stories high, 80 streets, and 15 principal squares. There are many magnificent palaces in it; and in the burghers houses the second story is allotted for the residence of the imperial court officers. It is well fortified after the modern way; and, including the suburbs, may be about a quarter as big as London and Westminster. It is very populous, having always great numbers of strangers in it, of most European nations, in their proper habits, and may contain generally about 180,000 souls. The streets are narrow and dirty; and the air would be very unwholesome, were it not for the high winds which blow here most part of the year: whence the proverb, Vienna vel ventosa, vel venenosa. In most of the squares are beautiful fountains and magnificent monuments, erected by the emperors. The metropolitan church of St Stephen is a large magnificent Gothic building, with a tower 460 Austrian feet high, and a bell upwards of 10 feet in height and 32 in circumference. The bowels of the archducal family at their deaths are deposited in a vault of this church; but their hearts in the cloister church of the bare-footed Augustines, which is the imperial abbey-church, and their bodies in that of the capuchin-cloister. The archbishop's revenue is near 30,000 imperial florins per annum. Among the cloisters, of which there are a great number here, both in the city and suburbs, one of the principal is the Schotten, or Scottish Benedictine abbey, whose abbot is mitred, and to whose jurisdiction the populous suburb of St Ulrich, together with the Neubau, is subject. This abbey was founded for the Scots, in honour of their countryman St Colman, who was formerly reckoned the patron of Austria. At the entrance of St Stephen there is a stone placed in the wall, and held in great veneration by the Papists, being supposed to be one of those with which St Stephen was stoned to death. It looks like a pebble, and is worn very smooth, in consequence of the superstition of the people, who are continually touching it out of devotion. From the spire of the church is a most noble prospect of the city and adjacent country, and of the Danube, almost to Presburgh in Hungary. In the tower there is a case of wooden hammers, with which they call the people to church from Good-Friday to Easter-Sunday, because they will not suffer the bells to ring out during the time that our Saviour is supposed to have lain in the grave. Here are many hospitals; one in particular called the Burgher-spital, in which near 3000 persons are maintained. The imperial palace is a mean old building, consisting of two courts; the inner for the imperial family; and the outer, which is the largest, for lodging the courtiers and guards. The imperial cabinet of coins and medals is the largest and grandest in Europe; and the imperial library equals, if not exceeds, that of the Vatican, and the royal library at Paris, being supposed to contain near 100,000 volumes. Among other curious manuscripts is one of Livy, above 1000 years old; a Greek manuscript of Dioscorides, above 1100; a Greek manuscript of the book of Genesis above 1300, containing many curious draughts and representations in miniature or water-colours; Luther's Bible, with a great many notes in his own hand-writing; a
Greek manuscript of the New Testament, above 1500 years old, in gold letters on purple. Here is a noble university, endowed with large revenues and privileges; and divided into four classes, having each of them peculiar rules and immunities; namely, the Austrian class for the students of Austria, Italy, and other countries beyond the Alps; that of the Rhine, for the western parts of the empire, France, Spain, and the Netherlands; that of the Hungarians, for Hungary, Bohemia, with other countries, which speak Slavonic, and some parts of Germany, with Great Britain and Ireland. The principal, or chancellor, with the other masters of the university, have the power of life and death over the scholars: but the establishments for painting, sculpture, and the other fine arts, are on a much better footing here than those for the sciences, especially in respect to philosophy and divinity, which are little better than a heap of scholastic chimeras. However, in the year 1752, an imperial ordinance was issued, with a view to improve the method of teaching. Vienna is divided into four quarters, one of which is called the Schotten, that is, the Scots quarter. One of the gates also is called the Scots gate, in remembrance of some noble exploit performed there by the troops of that nation. The ministers of the Protestant crowned heads have chapels here, as in other Roman Catholic countries; and some Protestants held offices, both civil and military, under the late emperor Charles VI. The suburbs are much larger than the city itself. To ride round the line which incloses them, at an ordinary pace, would take up about four hours. The largest of them is called Leopoldstadt, from the emperor Leopold. In that of Roussau, is the grand palace of Lichtenstein. In that of Wieden, is the new imperial favourita, or summer-palace. In that called Renneweg, is the cloister of the female Salerians or English nuns, with the grand palaces of the late prince Eugene of Savoy, and of the prince of Schwarzenberg. In that called Landstrasse, is a fine cloister of hermits of the order of St Augustine, who wear white ermine. The city, by means of the Danube, is well supplied with provisions, and everything else useful, necessary, or agreeable. As it is the seat of the court, and the supreme colleges and tribunals, there is a prodigious resort to it, especially of the nobility, from all the hereditary countries, and others, particularly those of the empire. The grandeur of this court exceeds that of most others. All or most of the officers of state and of the household, of the horse and foot guards, and above 100 gentlemen of the bed-chamber, who wear golden keys at their breasts, are either princes, counts, or barons; but the etiquette, that is, ancient forms and usages which are rigidly observed, though universally exclaimed against, gives it an air of constraint, that is no where else to be seen. Days of Gala, i. e. festivals and holidays, are very welcome to both the court and city. They are of three sorts, the court-gala, the grand-gala, and little-gala. The first are the birth-days, name-days, &c. of the emperor and empress. The second, those of some minister, which are kept in the city. And the third, when any piece of good fortune happens to a family of rank and distinction.